purple_phoenix

I'm confused over some weird behaviour my clown loach has been demonstrating over the last few weeks... He's verging on the 20cm mark now, and seems to think he's a lot smaller. There are some stories I could tell of, including him getting himself stuck in a shipwreck ornament, and swimming through a line of about 30 plants clumsily enough to uproot all that he passed through.

Just yesterday, I'd taken off the whole lid of the tank to clean it, basically. I heard a 'splash', turned my head, and saw he'd jumped out the water, and fallen down the back of the tank, the dozey mare :
As it's only about an inch away from the wall, and the back-less cupboard underneath is filled with spare tanks, plants, gravel, food and what have you, I had a major panic trying to get him back in the water. Although he seemed quite quiet after that, he did try and take on my red-tailed shark this morning (with the light on - he never used to even come out with the light on) and got a bit bumped around in the process.

Other than that, he's been okay - and it's only really the last two or three weeks he's been acting up. Jumping out the tank was like... well, the point where I really started to worry. He might have just panicked after bumping into something; he's like that sometimes, but never leaves the bottom third-ish of the tank.

Should I worry? Should I not?
Anyone else had this happen to them?

Tom

I wouldn't be worried because mine has done similar things, except I was fishing out a dead fish and was able to pull the net under it first and saved it quickly. The only thing that I can think of that would make a loach do that is if there isn't something right with the water. Mine jumped out because the pH had a quick but small change. It could be because something else in the tank made him uncomfortable and wanted to get away from it. Just check your water conditions right after reading this.
Tom

purple_phoenix

Okay, I'll go and do that now. Thanks for the advice

hsubroto

They are clown ... some say that's how they got their name

purple_phoenix

I read somewhere that it was because they like to squeeze into small places, and will sleep upside down, etc.